Monday, March 16, 2009

David Shannon made the mistake of photographing headstones at Old Union Christian Church Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky, and publishing them online.

In February, the church's governing board sent Shannon a letter telling him "to cease publishing pictures of stones ... not part of your family because it is sharing family information without their consent."

Old Union's minister, the Rev. Scott Winkler, said the church's position is that Shannon's actions are an invasion of privacy. "If you're going to publish other people's private information you need to get their permission," he said. "Any cemetery has to protect rights of people buried there."

So thank you, Old Union Christian Church governing board, for supporting the right of dead people to have the information on their tombstones kept private. I am confident that your position is based on sound moral principles and not on any pecuniary and proprietary grounds.

The church sells a $10 book with all the tombstone information in it, but no pictures, compiled for an Eagle Scout project several years ago with the help of church historian Leslie Nash Huber, Winkler said. [Link]

I wonder it the church had any idea how this story would spread and the way people would react? I think I've read about this on almost every genealogy blog I follow...although not one of them made me laugh the way this one did!! Thanks :-)